Mayors Weekly Message 82

As your Mayor, and simply as a concerned resident, I care for the children of Moreno Valley like they’re my own. Their safety is my first priority. On August 14, more than 50,000 Moreno Valley students will head back to school, and many of them will be walking or biking. While the city provides crossing guards at most elementary schools to protect children, especially the littlest ones, the most important safety measure is for all of us adults to drive especially carefully near schools. Here are some simple but important ways we can all help keep children safe. · Drive with headlights ON to be seen. Cars, especially hybrids and electrics, can’t always be heard. · Slow down. Driving 20 or 25 miles per hour may seem slow, but not when a kindergartner darts in front of you. · Avoid school zones in the morning and afternoon unless you’re dropping off or picking up. · Don’t direct your children to run across the street. If you drop off or pick up on the far side of the street, have children walk to the nearest crosswalk. · Let children in or out of the car on the sidewalk side, not the traffic side. Moreno Valley Police take child safety as seriously as I do, and will be on the lookout for speeders and other dangerous drivers in school zones. Let’s work together with our officers to protect all the children headed back to school as if they’re our own.